The Reasons Our Team Went Undercover to Expose Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals consented to work covertly to expose a organization behind illegal High Street businesses because the wrongdoers are damaging the reputation of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they say.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both resided legally in the UK for a long time.

Investigators uncovered that a Kurdish criminal operation was running small shops, hair salons and car washes throughout the UK, and wanted to find out more about how it worked and who was involved.

Armed with hidden recording devices, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to work, looking to acquire and run a small shop from which to distribute contraband tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were able to uncover how simple it is for a person in these situations to set up and operate a enterprise on the High Street in public view. Those participating, we found, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to register the operations in their names, enabling to deceive the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also managed to discreetly film one of those at the heart of the organization, who asserted that he could remove government sanctions of up to £60,000 faced those using illegal workers.

"Personally aimed to participate in exposing these illegal operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't characterize Kurdish people," says one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker personally. The reporter came to the UK illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a region that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his well-being was at risk.

The reporters acknowledge that conflicts over illegal immigration are significant in the UK and explain they have both been concerned that the investigation could inflame hostilities.

But the other reporter explains that the illegal labor "damages the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he considers compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Furthermore, the journalist explains he was anxious the publication could be used by the extreme right.

He says this notably impressed him when he noticed that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom protest was taking place in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Signs and flags could be observed at the rally, displaying "we demand our nation returned".

The reporters have both been observing social media response to the exposé from inside the Kurdish population and explain it has caused strong frustration for some. One social media post they spotted said: "In what way can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

A different urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be attacked.

They have also encountered accusations that they were spies for the UK authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of hurting the Kurdish-origin community," Saman explains. "Our goal is to uncover those who have compromised its image. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and profoundly worried about the actions of such people."

Most of those applying for asylum claim they are escaping political oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the scenario for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, struggled for years. He explains he had to live on less than £20 a per week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now get approximately £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which provides meals, according to government policies.

"Realistically saying, this is not enough to sustain a respectable life," explains the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are largely prohibited from working, he believes a significant number are susceptible to being manipulated and are essentially "compelled to labor in the black market for as little as £3 per hour".

A spokesperson for the Home Office commented: "We are unapologetic for denying refugee applicants the right to be employed - doing so would generate an reason for individuals to come to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Refugee applications can require multiple years to be resolved with approximately a 33% taking over one year, according to official statistics from the end of March this current year.

Saman states working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or mini-mart would have been very straightforward to achieve, but he informed the team he would never have done that.

Nonetheless, he explains that those he met working in unauthorized convenience stores during his research seemed "disoriented", especially those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals expended all their savings to come to the UK, they had their refugee application refused and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed hopeless.

"When [they] say you're forbidden to be employed - but also [you]